Territory school report card worst in nation

Poor result: About 80 per cent of Year 10 Indigenous children in Victoria attend school but just 55 per cent in the Territory.

ABC TV

School attendance in the Northern Territory is the worst in the nation, with just 55 per cent of Indigenous children in Year 10 going to school.

A Council of Australian Governments (COAG) report released today shows there has been no improvement in Indigenous school attendance rates across Australia since 2008.

The Territory Government says efforts to get Indigenous children to attend school are being hampered by a lack of community awareness about the importance of education.

Territory Education Minister Peter Chandler says parents need to do more to address the problem.

"Ultimately, it is parents' or carers' responsibility to get their children to school," he said.

"Unless our communities value education, and unless our parents, our carers ... are getting our kids to school in the first place, its is very difficult to provide a decent education," he said.

Territory Opposition Leader Delia Lawrie says the COAG report shows the government should backtrack on its planned cuts to teacher and education department staff numbers.

"If anything, it proves we need more resources in education," she said.

The COAG report found that for the Year 10 student group there was significant fluctuation across different states and territories, with about 80 per cent of Indigenous kids in Victoria attending school but just 55 per cent in the Territory.

The report also found there has been a national decrease in the number of Indigenous students meeting minimum standards in Year Three numeracy.

The Territory Government is reviewing the state of Indigenous education, with a report expected to be delivered next year.

Mr Chandler says it is clear the Indigenous education sector needs to be reformed.

"We need to get to the bottom of this," he said.

"We need to learn what we are doing right, what we are doing wrong.

"I am sincerely hoping that the recommendations that come from these reviews ... help us find the right direction to take."